U.S. Men&#039;s Olympic Teamhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/taxonomy/term/432/all
enBetween The Pipeshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/between-pipes
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American Netminders Shine Following Roster Announcement </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/99">USA Hockey Magazine</a> </div>
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<p class="p1">Heading into the 2013-14 NHL season, goaltending was figuring to be a strength of the 2014 U.S. Men's Olympic squad. While the three named to the team have had their ups and downs this season, each appears to be rounding into form with the Olympics just over a month away, with all three delivering dominant performances in their first start since being named to the team. The following, from the NHL:</p>
<p class="p1">*&nbsp;<strong>Jimmy Howard</strong>&nbsp;stopped 44 of 45 shots as the Detroit Red Wings rebounded from their shootout loss in the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic with a 5-1 win in Dallas. "We&rsquo;ve been waiting for Jimmy to be Jimmy for us all year long and tonight he was back to being what we expect," said Red Wings coach&nbsp;Mike Babcock. "I thought he had a real bounce-back game after the (Dec. 30) Nashville game ... and here tonight he was big and square and soft and the things he has always been."</p>
<p class="p1">*&nbsp;<strong>Ryan Miller</strong>&nbsp;improved to 5-1-1 in his last seven starts as the Buffalo Sabres posted a 2-1 win over New Jersey. In 11 appearances since U.S. Thanksgiving, Miller is 7-3-1 with a .943 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average. "Ryan, quietly, I thought he was sensational again," Sabres coach&nbsp;<strong>Ted Nolan said</strong>. "A couple of those saves, I think (Adam) Henrique tipped the puck on top of the circle, not too many goaltenders would be able to read that and see that. He made a great save that kept us in the game."</p>
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<p class="p1">*&nbsp;<strong>Jonathan Quick</strong>&nbsp;made 27 saves in his first game since Nov. 12 and the Los Angeles Kings rallied with three third-period goals in a 3-1 win against Vancouver. "When I said I was ready, that meant I was ready to do it," said Quick, who missed 24 games with a lower body injury. "You don't come in feeling 80 percent. If that was the case, I wouldn't have sat out the first two months. I felt 100 percent. If it looked like I was struggling out there, I made a wrong decision."</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/between-pipes#commentsBuffalo SabresDetroit Red WingsJimmy HowardJonathan QuickLos Angeles KingsNHLRyan MillerU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentMon, 06 Jan 2014 01:03:30 +0000harryt9579 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comGolden Dreamshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/golden-dreams
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Braintrust Makes Tough Decisions In Assembling U.S. Olympic Team </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/12">Harry Thompson</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/460056105.preview.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-preview " width="384" height="525" /></span></p>
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</style> <![endif]--><!--StartFragment--><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Let the second-guessing commence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The ice shavings from the youth hockey players who stopped in front of the NBC cameras to reveal the names of the 2014 U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team had barely settled </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">on </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">the ice at Michigan Stadium, the site of the NHL Winter Classic, when critics began their best Monday morning quarterbacking &ndash; even though it&rsquo;s Wednesday &ndash; by questioning those who were left off the 25-man roster.</span><span style="font-family: Times; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Moments later, U.S. General Manager David Poile sat alone at a podium to address </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">more </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">questions </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">about</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> who was not named than who was for the squad tha</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">t</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> will represent the United States at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;With all due respects to past teams, this is the first time that we&rsquo;ve had to make those types of [difficult] decisions,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;The quantity and the quality of USA Hockey players is growing at a fantastic rate.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Notably, several defensemen who have long and distinguished international careers were left off the U.S. roster. Erik and Jack Johnson bleed red, white and blue dating back to their days at the National Team Development Program. But Poile and the USA Hockey management group felt that their talents were not as suited for the big ice surface as several other younger, fleet-footed defensemen like John Carlson and Cam Fowler.</span><span style="font-family: Times; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And then there was Bobby Ryan, a member of the 2010 U.S. silver-medal winning squad who has also potted 18 goals with the Ottawa Senators so far this season. Poile was very candid in saying that he wanted to take five centers on this squad, leaving Ryan as the odd man out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Just like Brian Burke in 2010, Poile and his charges said they were not looking for the best players, but the best mix of goal scorers, defensive specialists, shutdown defensemen and penalty killers that give the U.S. the best chance to succeed in Sochi. And just like Burke in 2010, Poile will spend most of the next month defending the decisions made by the management group.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;This is not about picking an all-star team,&rdquo; Poile defended. &ldquo;We did not pick the best 25 players. We picked the best 25 players that we thought give us a chance to compete to win a gold medal.&rdquo;</span><span style="font-family: Times; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">They also looked at chemistry, such as the defensive pairing of Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik in Pittsburgh, or the fact that T.J. Oshie and David Backes play on a line, as do Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk in Toronto and Ryan Callahan and Derek Stepan with the N.Y. Rangers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Much of the decision was based on stemming the tide of not winning on foreign soil after having success in North America.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;A lot of our thinking in terms of putting the squad together was done along that line,&rdquo; said Poile. &ldquo;As we head to Sochi I really feel that we have a chance to win, and we expect to win. For the first time other countries are regarding the U.S. as one of the favorites to win the Olympics.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Still, Poile praised the work of USA Hockey&rsquo;s grass-roots structure and particularly the American Development Model for creating a system of development that puts the U.S. on equal footing with other countries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;This is the first time that we&rsquo;re facing the same decisions that Canada has where we have to leave off some top, top players,&rdquo; he said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Three players that were selected participated in the Winter Classic a</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">nd </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">have ties to the Ann Arbor area, and particularly the NTDP. Kessel and van Riemsdyk of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings were quick-change artists and slipped out of their NHL jerseys and put on the USA Hockey blue for the team introductions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/459998923.img_assist_custom-279x186.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-279x186 " width="279" height="186" /></span>&ldquo;This is really surreal</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">,</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> these last 24 hours with the Winter Classic and now to be named to Team USA,&rdquo; said Howard, who admittedly has not enjoyed his finest season this year, but Poile pointed to his consecutive 35 win seasons and his success in the playoffs, particularly against th</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">e </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Nashville Predators.</span><span style="font-family: Times; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And like Howard, who parlayed his experience at the NTDP into a successful college and pro career, the others said that the seed that was planted in Ann Arbor has fueled their desire to once again wear the USA crest at the highest level.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;Since I came to Ann Arbor this is something that I&rsquo;ve always wanted to do, play at the Olympics, and it&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;m very excited for,&rdquo; said vanRiemsdyk, who scored the Maple Leafs first goal earlier in the day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And as the ice shavings continue to settle and critics nitpick the selections of the defending silver medalists, Poile as well as the players will return to work with their respective NHL clubs, but they will count down the days until they board the Olympic charter and head for Sochi.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;I really look forward to the next month but I wish we could get on the plane right now and go over there,&rdquo; he said.</span></p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/golden-dreams#commentsadmAmerican Development ModelBobby RyanBrian BurkeCam FowlerDavid BackesDavid PoileDerek StepanErik JohnsonJack JohnsonJames van RiemsdykJimmy HowardJohn CarlsonOlympic Winter GamesPhil KesselRyan CallahanSochi 2014Sochi OlympicsT.J. OshieU.S. Men's Olympic TeamUSA HockeyOnline Bonus ContentFri, 03 Jan 2014 16:05:45 +0000harryt9551 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comHouse Money: Men Win Silver at 2010 Winter Olympic Gameshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-04/house-money-men-win-silver-2010-winter-olympic-games
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No Pressure, No Problem As Underdog U.S. Squad Comes Close To Another Olympic Miracle </div>
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<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/menphoto1bigger.jpg" alt="Dustin Brown, left, celebrates a goal by Ryan Kesler that got the Americans on the board against Roberto Luongo and the Canadians in the gold-medal game." title="Dustin Brown, left, celebrates a goal by Ryan Kesler that got the Americans on the board against Roberto Luongo and the Canadians in the gold-medal game." class="image image-_original " width="338" height="507" /><span class="caption" style="width: 336px;">Dustin Brown, left, celebrates a goal by Ryan Kesler that got the Americans on the board against Roberto Luongo and the Canadians in the gold-medal game.</span></span></strong>When it seems like the whole world is against you and the only people who believe in you are sitting inside your locker room, the world can seem like a pretty lonely place.</p>
<p>Or, if you&rsquo;re wearing the red, white and blue, playing the role of underdog on the Olympic stage can be a truly liberating feeling. After all, you have history on your side.</p>
<p>As the hockey world was giving the U.S. Men&rsquo;s Team the proverbial cold shoulder, this group of untested and relatively unknown hockey players reveled in anonymity, happy to leave the attention, and the pressure, for the Russians, Canadians and other so-called Olympic powerhouses to deal with.<br />In short, the U.S. Men&rsquo;s Team felt like it was playing with house money.</p>
<p>The long-shot Americans came within seconds of hitting the golden jackpot on the anniversary of two other Olympic upsets before falling to the heavily favored hosts in overtime of the gold-medal game at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Any time someone thinks you can&rsquo;t do something you want to prove them wrong,&rdquo; said defenseman Erik Johnson, one of 19 American players under the age of 30.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We knew that we were the underdogs in the tournament and we kind of embraced that role. I think we have a tremendous group of guys in the [locker] room who could get the job done. We had a quiet confidence that we felt would get us far in the tournament.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/Ryan-Miller-menphoto.jpg" alt="Ryan Miller gave U.S. fans plenty to cheer about during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver" title="Ryan Miller gave U.S. fans plenty to cheer about during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver" class="image image-_original " width="338" height="427" /><span class="caption" style="width: 336px;">Ryan Miller gave U.S. fans plenty to cheer about during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver</span></span></strong>That confidence level began building long before the team arrived in Vancouver. The seeds were sown in the summer sun of suburban Chicago during an orientation camp where general manager Brian Burke told the non-believers to pack their bags if they didn&rsquo;t think this was a team that could win gold in Vancouver.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I said during the orientation camp that we were coming here to win. No bold predictions. No bulletin board stuff. But that was our goal,&rdquo; Burke said while holding court for the media before the gold-medal game.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There were a couple of comments that this won&rsquo;t be this team&rsquo;s year. Team USA may be the best team in Sochi [in 2014], but not Vancouver. I said to the players in the first meeting that anyone who thinks they&rsquo;re here prepping for Sochi, please get up and leave right now. That&rsquo;s not what we&rsquo;re doing here.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Almost from the outset, Burke seemed to know something the so-called hockey experts didn&rsquo;t. If convincing victories against Switzerland and Norway weren&rsquo;t enough to garner support, a stunning <br />defeat of the high-powered Canadians began to invoke memories of miracles past.</p>
<p>It was, after all, the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, N.Y., and the 50th anniversary of the first Olympic gold for the Americans in Squaw Valley, Calif. </p>
<p>It didn&rsquo;t surprise the players, though. There was a strong belief in the U.S. locker room and a quiet confidence that didn&rsquo;t care what others thought.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really irrelevant what the media or other teams think about us, or whether we&rsquo;re the underdogs or not,&rdquo; said forward Dustin Brown. </p>
<p>&ldquo;We know what we&rsquo;re here to do, and as long as we have that belief system in our room and go about our business in the proper way we&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/menphoto1.jpg" alt="Chris Drury heads up ice with the puck." title="Chris Drury heads up ice with the puck." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="399" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">Chris Drury heads up ice with the puck.</span></span></strong></p>
<p>Of course it helps when you have Ryan Miller holding down the fort on the back end. Following the great Olympic legacy of American goaltenders such as Jack McCartan, Jim Craig and Mike Richter, the boney kid from East Lansing, Mich., proved every bit the equal of other international goalies who garnered all the attention heading into the tournament.</p>
<p>Throughout his time in Vancouver, Miller outplayed every goaltender he came up against, including Martin Brodeur, Jonas Hiller and Miikka Kiprusoff, on his way to garnering the tournament most valuable player award.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/1004-Ryan-Kesler.jpg" alt="Ryan Kesler had a fine olympic showing." title="Ryan Kesler had a fine olympic showing." class="image image-_original " width="225" height="382" /><span class="caption" style="width: 223px;">Ryan Kesler had a fine olympic showing.</span></span>&ldquo;We all knew what Ryan Miller could do. He&rsquo;s been our best player,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s given us a comfort level that&rsquo;s allowed our team to play a certain way because we trust him back there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Staked to the top seed and a bye into the quarterfinals, American hockey fans may have been celebrating, but the team&rsquo;s general manager was seething. From his perch high above the ice at the Hockey Canada Place, Burke saw a team being carried by a fraction of the roster.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We need all hands on deck,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Thank God we have some guys pulling on the rope, but we need everyone pulling on the rope.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Burke&rsquo;s words seemed to be the wake-up call some players needed, as everyone showed up for total team wins against the Swiss and Finland to set up the rematch that everyone in North America, including NBC who foresaw a ratings bonanza, was calling for.</p>
<p>The game didn&rsquo;t disappoint the millions who tuned in around Canada and the United States. After falling behind 2-0, the Americans cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal from local hero turned villain, Ryan Kesler. </p>
<p>Just when it seemed like Cinderella&rsquo;s glass slipper wouldn&rsquo;t fit anymore, Zach Parise poked in a loose puck to tie the game with 24.4 seconds left in regulation. </p>
<p>As Wilson said, big-time players come up big when it matters most. Just like Parise did for the Yanks, Sidney Crosby wristed home the golden goal early in overtime to send the country into a frenzy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think both teams are winners, but more than anything hockey in general was the winner,&rdquo; Wilson said afterward. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t have asked anything more of our players. They did us proud. They played hard for 60 minutes, including right to the end of regulation. </p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a shame that both teams couldn&rsquo;t have won a gold medal today.&rdquo;</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-04/house-money-men-win-silver-2010-winter-olympic-games#comments2010 Olympic Winter Games2010 VancouverU.S. Men's Olympic TeamFeatureFri, 09 Apr 2010 19:52:25 +0000admin2507 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comMending Fenceshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/mending-fences
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Olympic Rivals Must Bury The Hatchet To Become NHL Teammates Again </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/Kesler.preview.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-preview " width="525" height="362" /></span>Ryan Kelser tried to jam his Vancouver Canucks teammate Roberto Luongo into the back of the net during a scrum in the crease.</p>
<p>Dustin Brown rubbed out his Los Angeles Kings teammate Drew Doughty along the boards.</p>
<p>Patrick Kane did everything he could to dipsy-doodle past Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, but the Chicago Blackhawks defensive duo have seen that move too many times in practice over the past three years.</p>
<p>Blood brothers just a few weeks ago have felt their blood boil these past 14 days as they have gone up against NHL teammates with national pride on the line.</p>
<p>Sunday&rsquo;s gold-medal game had more than just bragging rights on the line. They were playing for an Olympic gold medal, which the Canadian players were wearing around their necks after a hard-fought, 3-2, overtime victory in front of a packed house of 17,748 rabid fans, and millions more tuned in around North America.</p>
<p>Brooks Orpik has been on the winning side of his Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; teammate Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s heroics in the past. Today, Orpik watched from the bench as Crosby scored the game-winning goal in overtime.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of those guys who is able to step up his play in big games and he&rsquo;s really opportunistic,&rdquo; said Orpik, who won a Stanley Cup with Crosby last season.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You never want to lose but if we&rsquo;re going to lose I&rsquo;m happy that he had success.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Not every NHL player shared those feel-good sentiments over their teammate&rsquo;s success. Kesler said it may take a while before he can talk to Luongo about the game, or anything else for that matter. <span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/Brown.img_assist_custom-280x205.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x205 " width="279" height="205" /></span></p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be awkward,&rdquo; Kesler said of reuniting with Luongo when the Canucks reunite on Tuesday to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first game after the Olympic break.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I saw him [on Saturday] and wished him good luck. He didn&rsquo;t say anything back, so I don&rsquo;t know what that&rsquo;s all about.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Kesler got the best of his Canucks&rsquo; teammate, deflecting a Patrick Kane wrist shot past Luongo to cut the Canadian lead to 2-1 midway through the second period.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To come up short definitely hurts,&rdquo; said Kesler. &ldquo;We deserved better.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Now comes the hard part. Teammates that have tried to take each other&rsquo;s heads off for the past two weeks must mend fences and come together to help their NHL teams push toward the playoffs.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fun playing against them,&rdquo; Kane said of playing against his Blackhawk teammates. &ldquo;Once we go back with our own teams it will be nice to play with them again.&rdquo;</p>
<p>On the reverse side, U.S. players have formed bonds that will last throughout their careers and beyond. David Backes may even learn to like Kesler, his Western Conference nemesis.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said this before that I hate to play against the guy but I&rsquo;m starting to admit that I might like to play with him,&rdquo; the St. Louis Blues forward said.</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/mending-fences#commentsDavid BackesDustin BrownOlympicsRyan KeslerU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentMon, 01 Mar 2010 02:27:10 +0000harryt2229 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comBurke's Barkhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/burkes-bark
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U.S. General Manager Not Pleased With All Facets Of Team So Far </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/96940088.preview.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-preview " width="525" height="350" /></span></p>
<p>If you think Brian Burke is happy to be undefeated and the No. 1 seed heading into the elimination part of the Olympic tournament, think again.</p>
<p>The chief architect of the U.S. Men&rsquo;s Team blasted the overall play of his team while praising goaltender Ryan Miller in a brief session with the media between periods of the U.S. Women&rsquo;s semifinal game against Sweden.</p>
<p>After playing the underdog card for the better part of a year, opponents may now start to call Burke&rsquo;s bluff. The Americans are on top in the tournament with a 3-0 record and a stronger goal differential than defending Olympic champion Sweden.</p>
<p>So now is the time for Burke to downplay what his team has done well and point out where it needs to improve, and quickly.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not happy with the way we&rsquo;ve played to this point,&rdquo; said Burke, who has a close relationship with the Vancouver media after spending six years there as the general manager of the Canucks. <strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/96963668.img_assist_custom-237x253.jpg" alt="Team USA General Manager Brian Burke" title="Team USA General Manager Brian Burke" class="image image-img_assist_custom-237x253 " width="237" height="253" /><span class="caption" style="width: 235px;">Team USA General Manager Brian Burke</span></span></strong></p>
<p>"It&rsquo;s nice that we&rsquo;ve gotten to this position but if we don&rsquo;t crank it up this all goes for nothing.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For starters, Burke says it will take a total team effort to move on, and so far that&rsquo;s just not the case.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We need all hands on deck,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Thank God we have some guys pulling on the rope, but we need everyone pulling on the rope.&rdquo;</p>
<p>From here on out, things get tougher, even though the U.S. is the No. 1 seed and could likely see a rematch against Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Still, Burke said not to put too much stock in &ldquo;winning&rdquo; the preliminary round of the tournament.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You didn&rsquo;t see Canada&rsquo;s best game last night. You didn&rsquo;t see Sweden&rsquo;s best game last night,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Everything gets ratcheted up now. We&rsquo;ve got to ratchet it up, too, or everything is for naught. They don&rsquo;t hand out any medals for finishing first in the preliminary round.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Burke pointed to turnovers in the neutral zone that have led to too many scoring chances, and a lack of intensity particularly in the second period of the Canada game. He could have also mentioned too many odd-man rushes, especially late in the first two games.</p>
<p>Burke didn&rsquo;t single out any players who need to turn their games up a notch, at least not in public, but did give shout outs to several players who have had monster games.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Brian Rafalski may have played the best game of his life last night. I thought Jack Johnson had a real strong game,&rdquo; said Burke, adding that he&rsquo;ll make sure the players in the U.S. locker room know how he feels. </p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/96939884_0.img_assist_custom-280x233.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x233 " width="280" height="233" /></span>&ldquo;I thought that Ryan Kesler was a warrior last night. From the opening faceoff to the last minute of the game I thought he was a gladiator. He was good on face-offs, he was physical, he used his foot speed. He was a pain in the ass to play against. I loved him last night and thought he was great.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But Burke knows better than anyone that a hot goaltender can carry you a long way, especially in a short tournament.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why Ryan Miller may be the best goaltender in the league so far this season,&rdquo; Burke said after Miller&rsquo;s 42-save effort on Sunday.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We got out-chanced 2 to 1 last night and our goaltender stole us the game. People can say that Canada didn&rsquo;t play well. I don&rsquo;t agree with that. Except for the goaltending position we didn&rsquo;t deserve to win the game last night.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Burke seemed to shy away from the impending goaltender controversy with Canada, heaping praise on all three netminders &ndash; Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Canada is in a really luxurious position of having an embarrassment of riches at that position,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re choosing apples and apples there. You&rsquo;re talking about three great players there.&rdquo;</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/burkes-bark#comments2010 Olympic Winter GamesU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentTue, 23 Feb 2010 02:13:55 +0000padawankat2179 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comMen's Hockey Olympic Preview: CHANGING OF THE GUARDhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-02/mens-hockey-olympic-preview-changing-guard
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Long-Shot Odds And An Underdog Status Can&#039;t Dull The Resolve Of A New Generation Of U.S. Olympians </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/vancouver-header.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="66" /></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/1002mens-kane.jpg" alt="The U.S. will need the young energy of guys like Patrick Kane to make a run in the Olympics." title="The U.S. will need the young energy of guys like Patrick Kane to make a run in the Olympics." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="473" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">The U.S. will need the young energy of guys like Patrick Kane to make a run in the Olympics.</span></span></strong></p>
<p>As far as Brian Burke is concerned what happens in Vegas can stay in Vegas.</p>
<p>He knows that the smart money heading into the Olympics will be bet on the superstar lineups of Canada and Russia. He also knows that the smart money isn&rsquo;t always the best bet, especially when national pride and international bragging rights are on the line.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s why the general manager of the men&rsquo;s U.S. Olympic Team isn&rsquo;t trying to bluff when it comes to the steep odds facing his young squad.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You go to Vegas aweek before this tournament and there won&rsquo;t be a penny bet on us.</p>
<p>Everybody is going to be betting on and talking about Canada and Russia, and to a lesser extent Sweden,&rdquo; Burke said after the team was announced on New Year&rsquo;s Day.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not manufacturing an underdog status. That&rsquo;s what we are. We&rsquo;re going to be the youngest and smallest team in the field, and that&rsquo;s fine with us. We don&rsquo;t mind going in under the radar.&rdquo;</p>
<p>With that said, Burke and head coach Ron Wilson made it clear to the 23 players chosen to represent the United States that they aren&rsquo;t heading to Vancouver to be a red, white and blue speed bump for anybody.</p>
<p>&ldquo;As I&rsquo;ve said to our players&hellip;we are going there to win, and we&rsquo;ve picked the team that gives us the best chance to do that,&rdquo; said Burke who, along with a team of fellow NHL general managers, has spent the past 16 months scouting and analyzing every American-born player considered for this team.</p>
<p>What they have assembled is a young but talented team that is equal parts speed, grit and wide-eyed enthusiasm.</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/1002-mens3.jpg" alt="Solid goaltending from Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas will be the ace in coach Ron Wilson&#039;s hand." title="Solid goaltending from Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas will be the ace in coach Ron Wilson&#039;s hand." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="181" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">Solid goaltending from Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas will be the ace in coach Ron Wilson's hand.</span></span></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I want us to be a fun team to watch, an attacking team, use our skill, use our speed,&rdquo; said Wilson, who along with NHL coaches John Tortorella and Scot Gordon will lead the U.S. squad. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be a fast team. What we lack in experience we&rsquo;ll try to make up in enthusiasm.&rdquo;</p>
<p>What is not there are many of the familiar names that have served USA Hockey so well for most of the past decade. Gone are names like Modano, Tkachuk, Guerin and Weight, replaced by rising stars such as Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan and Patrick Kane. In fact, there are only three players on the current U.S. roster &mdash; defenseman Brian Rafalski and forwards Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Drury &mdash; with Olympic experience.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We have turned the page generationally for USA Hockey. That was not without a great deal of agonizing thought on behalf of the committee,&rdquo; Burke said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to turn the page on them because of their loyalty and their patriotism. These were guys who always stepped up, so to say to those guys &lsquo;not this time&rsquo; was tough.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The common belief among the leadership group was that it was time for a new generation of American players to step up and write their own chapter in USA Hockey history.</p>
<p>Wilson, for one, is confident they will be ready to performon hockey&rsquo;s biggest stage.</p>
<p>&ldquo;These are things that you dream about. This shouldn&rsquo;t be viewed as intimidating. This should be viewed as having the time of your life. That&rsquo;s how we&rsquo;re going to approach this,&rdquo; said Wilson, who coached the U.S. Team at the 1998 Olympics in addition to the 1996 and 2004 World Cups of Hockey and the 2009 World Championships.</p>
<p>Up front the U.S. boasts a diverse group of speedy snipers mixed in with big bodies who can muscle their away around the smaller ice surface. (The Vancouver tournament will be the first Olympic tournament played on an NHL ice surface.)</p>
<p>The blue line crewis amixture of big bodies who can bang in the corners and in front of the net, and skilled puck movers who can trigger the breakout. All of them, according to Burke, can log a lot of ice time, which will be vital with only seven defensemen on the roster.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s in goal where the U.S. will most likely hang its medal hopes with Tim Thomas, who won the Vezina Trophy last season in Boston, and Ryan Miller, who is enjoying a career year in Buffalo.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to be a very quick team and obviously very solid in goal,&rdquo; Wilson said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have a mobile defense with a lot of upside, and the right kind of balance that we&rsquo;ll need up front with a lot of high-end skill guys and then some guys who can muck it out and grind it out with the best in the league.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The biggest challenge will be to bring the squad together very quickly before the puck drops at noon on Feb. 16 against a Swiss team that has been together for several months.</p>
<p>Wilson is hoping the chemistry established during a short orientation camp this summer, coupled with the familiarity that comes from playing together on previous U.S. squads, will allow them to come together quickly.</p>
<p>With that familiarity comes a sense of pride, not only for what it means to represent their country, but also in upholding a proud tradition started by a group that Burke has called the &ldquo;greatest generation&rdquo; ofAmerican players.</p>
<p>These new players are well aware of the monumental task ahead of them, but are up to the challenge no matter what the &ldquo;smart money&rdquo; says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not expected to win by everyone else. That&rsquo;s just fine with us,&rdquo; said Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown. &ldquo;We believe in our locker room and we believe that we&rsquo;ll do great things up there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Spoken like a true long shot &mdash; with an ace up his sleeve.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h6>Photos &mdash; Ross Dettman, Getty Images<br /></h6>
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<a href="/issue/2010-02">2010-02</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-02/mens-hockey-olympic-preview-changing-guard#comments2010 Olympic Winter GamesOlympicsU.S. Men's Olympic TeamFeatureSat, 13 Feb 2010 21:09:53 +0000admin2109 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comIt's Miller Time: Ryan Millerhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-01/its-miller-time-ryan-miller
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American Medal Hopes Could Rest On The Capable Shoulders Of Ryan Miller </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/38">Kevin Oklobzija</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/ryan-miller.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="635" /></span></p>
<p><strong>Ryan Miller has the look of a champion as he sets his sights on helping the U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team return to the medals podium in Vancouver.</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Ryan miller is still just a bit perturbed about what many Americans considered an egregious mistake leading up to a recent Olympic hockey tournament.</p>
<p>And no, it has nothing to do with his omission from the 2006 Team USA roster for Torino, Italy. That didn&rsquo;t upset him then and doesn&rsquo;t today.</p>
<p>But how, pray tell, did the folks in Salt Lake City allow that Canadian Loonie to be buried at center ice? Ugh!</p>
<p>&ldquo;We made a little mistake there,&rdquo; the Buffalo Sabres goaltender says with a chuckle.</p>
<p>Miller will be out to help the Americans enact revenge of sorts &ndash; on top of the ice &ndash; at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old native of East Lansing, Mich., has been one of, if not the, best goalie in the National Hockey League this season.</p>
<p>And when Team USA&rsquo;s roster is announced during the NHL&rsquo;s Winter Classic from Fenway Park on Jan. 1, Miller will hear his named called.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In all honesty, you couldn&rsquo;t catch a guy at a better time in his career,&rdquo; says Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of USA Hockey. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s arguably the best performing goalie in the league right now. The numbers say it all.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Indeed they do. Through nine weeks of the NHL season, Miller was No. 1 in goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.932), and second in victories (16).</p>
<p>He has never felt better about his game.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Personally I feel I&rsquo;m playing a style that I can maintain for an entire season,&rdquo; Miller says. &ldquo;I feel good about my positioning and my footwork and my stance. When you feel good about those three things, you&rsquo;re going to have a good chance to stop the puck.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/ryan-miller-action.jpg" alt="Ryan Miller stops T.J. Oshie during an Olympic Orientation Camp in Woodridge, Ill., in August." title="Ryan Miller stops T.J. Oshie during an Olympic Orientation Camp in Woodridge, Ill., in August." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="397" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">Ryan Miller stops T.J. Oshie during an Olympic Orientation Camp in Woodridge, Ill., in August.</span></span></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Playing for Team USA will be very special for Miller.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great tournament and a great showcase. You&rsquo;re up against the best in the world,&rdquo; Miller says. &ldquo;You combine that with a chance to represent your country and it&rsquo;s a unique experience. Hopefully I&rsquo;m going well enough that the coaching staff can lean on me for a few games.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Miller has heard the Olympic questions pretty much since training camp. He has not let it impact his game in the least.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Everything revolves on the way I&rsquo;m playing with the Buffalo Sabres,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;My responsibility and my job are to be the best I can for the Buffalo Sabres.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Miller was believed to be one of the front-runners for the 2006 Winter Games until he broke a bone in his hand. Uncertainty as to his recovery time-table and his play when he was healthy, USA Hockey officials chose Rick DiPietro, John Grahame and Robert Esche as the goalies.</p>
<p>Miller understood.</p>
<p>&ldquo;At the time, those three guys had more NHL playing time than me,&rdquo; says Miller, who was in only his second full season in the NHL back then . &ldquo;I was coming off an injury and the only thing I had going for me was a good season in the American League [with the Rochester Americans during the NHL lockout of 2004-05].</p>
<p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t like I was holding a grudge ever. It seems like the media was more upset about it than I ever was.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While Miller has worn the Team USA sweater three times in international competition, he has never played in the Olympics.</p>
<p>The experience will be like no other, says John Vanbiesbrouck, who played goal for the Americans in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The tournament is unusually different because there are a lot of unknown factors,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck says. &ldquo;What are my teammates like, what are their tendencies in certain situations. As a goalie, you&rsquo;re way out of your comfort zone.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/ryan-miller-tim-thomas.jpg" alt="Miller looks to team with 2009 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas to form a strong one-two punch in net for Team USA." title="Miller looks to team with 2009 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas to form a strong one-two punch in net for Team USA." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="400" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">Miller looks to team with 2009 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas to form a strong one-two punch in net for Team USA.</span></span></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Since goalies can be a little more temperamental than skaters, that&rsquo;s never a good thing.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Goalies have a tendency to have whiskers &ndash; like a cat &ndash; and those whiskers provide comfort,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck says. &ldquo;But you just have to have faith in your abilities. As a goalie, you&rsquo;re the glue guy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of talent on every team, obviously, so it&rsquo;s the solidarity among the players on a team, how you galvanize as a team, that leads to success.&rdquo;</p>
<p>There&rsquo;s another major difference from the goalie&rsquo;s NHL mindset. In an 82-game season, there will be not-so-good nights. In the Olympic tournament, one bad game can mean no medal round.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sprint, it&rsquo;s not a marathon,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck says. &ldquo;During the NHL season, you can say, &lsquo;I had a bad game, I can put it behind me.&rsquo; You can&rsquo;t put a bad game behind you in the Olympics.&rdquo;<br />So what is Miller&rsquo;s biggest worry about the upcoming Vancouver Games? Tickets.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My parents and my siblings are going to come, and a lot of other family members are making plans,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to accommodate as many people as possible. I hope they understand if I can&rsquo;t make miracles happen.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hey, wait a minute. Aren&rsquo;t the Olympics where miracles do happen?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Kevin Oklobzija covers hockey for the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat &amp; Chronicle.</em></p>
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<h6>Photos - Ross Dettman<br /></h6>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2010-01/its-miller-time-ryan-miller#comments2010 VancouverBuffalo SabresRyan MillerU.S. Men's Olympic TeamFeatureThu, 21 Jan 2010 22:05:31 +00002021 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comLangenbrunner Named Captain of U.S. Olympic Teamhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/langenbrunner-named-captain-us-olympic-team
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Brown, Parise, Rafalski and Suter Tabbed As Alternate Captains </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/99">USA Hockey Magazine</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/94991029.preview.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-preview " width="525" height="383" /></span>Jamie Langenbrunner (Cloquet, Minn./New Jersey Devils) has been named captain of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, as announced today by USA Hockey. Langenbrunner, who is in his third season as captain of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, will serve as a Team USA captain for the first time.</p>
<p>Langenbrunner will represent the United States at an Olympic Winter Games for the second time, after previously playing with the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.</p>
<p>He was also a member of Team USA at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and was a two-time member of the U.S. National Junior Team that competed at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship (1994, 1995).</p>
<p>Langenbrunner has amassed 585 points in 927 games played during his 15 NHL seasons with the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils. He has participated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 12 times and is a two-time (1999-Dallas, 2003-New Jersey) Stanley Cup champion.</p>
<p>Dustin Brown (Ithaca, N.Y./Los Angeles Kings), Zach Parise (Prior Lake, Minn./New Jersey Devils), Brian Rafalski (Dearborn, Mich./Detroit Red Wings) and Ryan Suter (Madison, Wis./Nashville Predators) will serve as alternate captains for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team.</p>
<p>Brown, who is in his second season as captain of the Los Angeles Kings, previously served as captain of the 2009 U.S. Men's National Team at the IIHF World Men's Championship. He was also a member of Team USA at three other IIHF World Men's Championships (2004, 2006, 2008) and two IIHF World Junior Championships (2002, 2003).</p>
<p>Parise, who is in his first season as an alternate captain of the New Jersey Devils, previously served as an alternate captain on the gold medal-winning 2004 U.S. National Junior Team, as well as the 2008 U.S. Men's National Team. He also competed at two other IIHF World Men's Championships (2005, 2007), the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship and was a member of gold medal-winning 2002 U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship.</p>
<p>Rafalski, who will be competing in his third Olympic Winter Games (2002, 2006), was also a member of Team USA at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Additionally, he played for the 1995 U.S. Men's National Team and two U.S. National Junior Teams (1992, 1993).</p>
<p>Suter, who will be competing in his 10th international competition at the Olympic Winter Games, served as the captain of the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He has been a member of Team USA at four IIHF World Men's Championships (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009), three IIHF World Junior Championships (2003, 2004, 2005) and two IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championships (2002, 2003), winning gold with the 2004 U.S. National Junior Team and the 2002 U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team.</p>
<p>The XXI Olympic Winter Games will take place Feb. 16-28 in Vancouver, B.C. Team USA plays Switzerland in its first game Feb. 16.</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/langenbrunner-named-captain-us-olympic-team#commentsU.S. Men's Olympic TeamU.S. Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentMon, 11 Jan 2010 20:14:55 +0000padawankat1942 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comU.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team To Be Announced Jan. 1http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/us-olympic-mens-ice-hockey-team-be-announced-jan-1
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Roster revealed during Bridgestone Winter Classic </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/99">USA Hockey Magazine</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/WinterOlympics2010-logo.thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-thumbnail " width="84" height="100" /></span>USA Hockey, in cooperation with NBC Sports and the National Hockey League, announced today that the 23-man roster for its 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will be unveiled during NBC's broadcast of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Jan. 1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Coverage of the game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers begins at 1 p.m. EST.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s terrific to have partners like NBC and the NHL,&rdquo; said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. &ldquo;I think by announcing our men&rsquo;s Olympic team as part of the broadcast of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, we all feel like it will add to the pageantry of what is sure to be a spectacular event.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will compete at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. The men's ice hockey competition will begin on Feb. 16 and conclude with the gold-medal game on Feb. 28.</p>
<p>Team USA plays its first game Feb. 16 against Switzerland.</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/us-olympic-mens-ice-hockey-team-be-announced-jan-1#comments2010 Olympic Winter GamesU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentTue, 03 Nov 2009 17:31:39 +0000padawankat1712 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comRyan Suter - Going for the Gold - Olympic Interviewhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/ryan-suter-going-gold-olympic-interview
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Ryan talks about the prospects of playing for Team USA </div>
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<p><a href="http://teamusa.org/video/?fr_story=3df1550e5a0605932e9998787da711406df6bf01" target="_blank"><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/0910-Ryan-Suter-5.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="404" /></span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://teamusa.org/video/?fr_story=3df1550e5a0605932e9998787da711406df6bf01" target="_blank">TeamUSA.org,</a> the Web site for the U.S. Olympic Committee, has a series of &ldquo;Going for the Gold&rdquo; vodcasts interviewing Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games hopefuls. This week&rsquo;s vodcast is centered on Ryan Suter. The Nashville Predator discusses topics such as his father&rsquo;s part in the 1980 Miracle on Ice and his favorite non-hockey winter sports.</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/ryan-suter-going-gold-olympic-interview#comments2010 Olympic Winter Games2010 VancouverRyan SuterU.S. Men's Olympic TeamWisconsinOnline Bonus ContentMon, 19 Oct 2009 15:04:41 +00001666 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comU.S. Bondshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/us-bonds
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Off-Ice Team Building Overshadows On-Ice Drills At Olympic Orientation Camp </div>
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<a href="/node/12">Harry Thompson</a> </div>
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<p>Brian Burke is, among other things, a realist. He knows that not one thin dime will be bet on the U.S. Olympic Team to win the gold in Vancouver.</p>
<p>Whether it&rsquo;s overstating the obvious or looking to rally his troops, Burke is looking to create a mindset that it will be U.S. against the world when the puck drops on what may be the last time NHL players skate for their respective countries under the Olympic banner.</p>
<p>And when things look bleakest, when the rest of the world is against you, you only have your teammates to count on.</p>
<p>Looking to cultivate that mentality, Burke and head coach Ron Wilson have enlisted the services of some of the most decorated servicemen in history to address their players on the importance of an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude, especially in the face of overwhelming odds.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I want to build a team and some camaraderie,&rdquo; said Wilson, who will be coaching in his second Olympics. &ldquo;You can never become a team unless you can trust the guys to the left, right, front and center. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re trying to establish here.&rdquo;<span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/_MG_0240.img_assist_custom-280x420.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x420 " width="280" height="420" /></span></p>
<p>There may be no better way to drive that point home for a group of young players than to have them hear it from a real-life American military hero.</p>
<p>As part of the team-building efforts that are at the epicenter of the three-day camp, the U.S. brain trust brought three decorated veterans to talk about what it means to be part of a military unit and fighting not only for yourself but the person next to you in the fox hole.</p>
<p>Army Rangers Joe Dames and Chad Flemming, along with Navy Seal Michael Thornton each described their military experiences on the battle field in chilling detail, and how they wouldn&rsquo;t be here today with the support of those in their unit.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That room was pretty intense last night, to their stories and to hear what these guys did and what they accomplished and what they did for our country it&rsquo;s just amazing,&rdquo; said veteran forward Scott Gomez.</p>
<p>&ldquo;They were trying to get the message across that you are a team, whether you have to accomplish a mission or you&rsquo;re going for a gold medal. Everyone has to be on the same page. Everyone has to be focused on the goal at hand. There&rsquo;s going to be stuff that&rsquo;s going to happen. You have to back each other up.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While there are similarities between the battlefield and the athletic field, to man the players all realize how fortunate they are to be playing a game they love. They also realize that they owe a huge debt of gratitude to American servicemen and women.</p>
<p>&ldquo;[The media writes] &lsquo;it was a heroic effort,&rsquo; or the kid beating Tiger Woods [at the PGA Championship] was &lsquo;heroic,&rsquo; that wasn&rsquo;t heroic when you get to talk to some of these Rangers and Navy Seals who have laid down their lives for us so that we have the opportunity to do this kind of stuff,&rdquo; said Wilson.</p>
<p>With only three days together before players head their separate ways and continue their preparations for their respective NHL training camp, Wilson is trying to cram as many team-building exercises into a short time as he can.<span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/_MG_9071.img_assist_custom-279x186.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-279x186 " width="279" height="186" /></span></p>
<p>After Tuesday&rsquo;s practices, which were again held in front of capacity crowds at the Seven Bridges Arena, the Americans were slated to take in a Chicago White Sox baseball game from the comfort of a private suite.</p>
<p>But Mike Modano and Dustin Byfuglien were tabbed to be on the field before the game, with Modano, the veteran of the group poised to throw out the first pitch. As he walks to the mound, Modano knows he is blessed to have played the game he loves for 20 years, and to have yet another opportunity to represent his country and all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to compare hockey to war in Iraq, but the message they were trying to get across is that you have to support each other and making each other&rsquo;s jobs a lot easier,&rdquo; said Modano, who has played in 71 games for the USA.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Being on the ice and being in the field of battle, there are similarities, but as we all know there is a huge difference. We&rsquo;re here for entertainment. Those guys are in it for real.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h5>Photos by Ross Dettman<br /></h5>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/us-bonds#commentsU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentWed, 26 Aug 2009 21:02:13 +0000harryt1422 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comOne Mo' Timehttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/one-mo-time-0
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Mike Modano Out To Prove There’s Enough Left In The Tank For One Run At Olympic Gold </div>
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<a href="/node/12">Harry Thompson</a> </div>
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<p>An Olympic mixed zone is a cross between a cattle drive and a mosh pit. Sweat-soaked players skate off the ice, sore and oftentimes steaming from what just happened on the ice, and file past TV cameras, flash bulbs and microphones held by hordes media sandwiched together like commuters on a Tokyo train in rush hour.</p>
<p>Unlike a typical NHL game, where players are given a few minutes to cool off, mentally and physically, Olympians are forced to navigate a gauntlet of questioners before they reach the sanctity of their locker room.</p>
<p>For Mike Modano, those few minutes he spent in the mix zone after the U.S. lost to Finland in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games are moments he wishes he could take back.<span class="inline inline-left"></span></p>
<p>Stinging from a reduced role in a bitter, 4-3, loss in a crucial game, the all-time leading American scorer lashed out at anything and everything in what must have felt like the end to a brilliant international career. Two World Cups, three Olympics, three World Championships and two World Juniors removed, here was Modano griping because of perceived slights in travel arrangements.<span class="inline inline-left"></span><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/_J0D3250.img_assist_custom-280x306.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x306 " width="280" height="306" /></span></p>
<p>&ldquo;You get caught in the heat of the moment,&rdquo; said Modano, who finished the tournament with two points. &ldquo;I was a little upset and felt that we deserved better and should have played better. There were a lot of frustrations so I lashed out at a lot of things.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Over time the smoke settles and you wish that you could have taken a couple of breaths after that game, but you still feel that you owe a lot to USA Hockey. They&rsquo;ve given me tons of opportunities to play for them.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In the eyes of many, the Livonia, Mich., native was singing his USA Hockey swansong. With a new generation poised to grab the torch heading into the Vancouver Olympics, there would be little room on the roster for a grizzled veteran, especially one who seemed to have burned his bridge to British Columbia.</p>
<p>In some respects, Modano was among those who figured he&rsquo;d worn the red, white and blue for the final time.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There was a little part of me that thought that would be the last go round. That&rsquo;s why I was as upset as I was,&rdquo; said the man with 24 goals in international competition under his belt. &ldquo;Now, I feel like I have a second chance so I&rsquo;d like to take advantage of it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As the only remaining member of what many consider to be USA Hockey&rsquo;s greatest generation, Modano came to the U.S. Olympic orientation camp in suburban Chicago not looking nor acting his age. Acting in good spirits and with plenty of jump still left in his 39-year-old legs, Modano is preparing for his 21st season with the Dallas Stars organization, and hopefully another kick at the Olympic can.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s tons of talent out here so I just hope that I fit in and bring some sort of impact and experience to the team,&rdquo; said Modano, who was chosen to throw out the first pitch at the Chicago White Sox game attended by the U.S. players.</p>
<p>&ldquo;All of the players are fast so you just hope that you can keep up with them. The game seems to be a little easier when you have some quickness around you and some great players like they have here.&rdquo;<span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/ModanoMike_3_2006OWG.img_assist_custom-280x382.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x382 " width="280" height="382" /></span></p>
<p>As he has done throughout his career, Modano will have to accept and adapt to different role within the U.S. system. As he reaches the end of what will surely be a Hall of Fame career, he has accepted more of a defensive role in Dallas, using his speed and experience to keep other top players in check. Still, he has proven that he can put the puck in the net, as he did 15 times last season.</p>
<p>With that said, it&rsquo;s in the dressing room where U.S. coach Ron Wilson envisions Modano being a real asset on a team with an average age of 26.2.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I see Mike Modano, along with Chris Chelios, serving in a different capacity. Those guys are the tribal storytellers who can pass on what it felt like and what it means [to wear the USA Hockey crest],&rdquo; said Wilson, who coached Modano on the U.S. squad that won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and then finished a disappointing eighth in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s arrogant of me to say that [the 1996 World Cup team] is the best American team of all time. There were six sure-fire Hall of Famers and as many as 10. We set a pretty high mark and those guys have carried the torch and now it&rsquo;s been passed on.&rdquo;</p>
<p>From his perspective, Modano thinks the nucleus of this year&rsquo;s squad is poised write its own history, one that will begin in Vancouver and get better with time.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a great foundation, probably better than ours,&rdquo; said Modano.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Back in &rsquo;96 we were 25 or 26 [years old], and these guys are 21 or 22. They have a tremendous upside to them so they can easily be together for a long time.&rdquo;</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/one-mo-time-0#commentsMike ModanoNHLU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentWed, 26 Aug 2009 20:43:26 +0000harryt1421 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comFrom Captain America To Coaching Americahttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/captain-america-coaching-america
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Chris Chelios Not Ready For The Rocking Chair </div>
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<a href="/node/12">Harry Thompson</a> </div>
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<p>Pay no attention to the coaching sweat suit. Chris Chelios still considers himself to be very much a player.</p>
<p>Despite his role as a special assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Orientation Camp this week at the Seven Bridges Arena in suburban Chicago, Chelios is using the three-day camp as a means to get a little extra ice time while he continues to beat the bushes in search of a team that could use his quarter century of NHL experience.</p>
<p>And he won&rsquo;t stop after he&rsquo;s knocked on the doors of 30 NHL teams. He&rsquo;ll just broaden his search. Either way, Captain America is not ready to hang up his competitive skates.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I'm going to play somewhere at the beginning of the year &ndash; whether it's the minors or Europe,&rdquo; said the 47-year-old who was doing sprints with the young players toward the end of Monday&rsquo;s practices.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have every intention of playing somewhere at the beginning of the year. Hopefully it's in the NHL, but if not, we'll see what happens.&rdquo;</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/_J0D3441.img_assist_custom-280x420.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x420 " width="280" height="420" /></span>With NHL general managers Brian Burke and David Poile in the house, as well as three NHL head coaches in the dressing room, Chelios is picking his spots to lobby for a roster spot before training camps open in a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You have Chelli pull you aside and say &lsquo;do you guys have room in Toronto? You can use a veteran defenseman. Any American coach would love to have a guy like me.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s even saying, &lsquo;Is there any way I can make this team?&rsquo; &rdquo; said Wilson in reference to the U.S. Olympic Team.</p>
<p>Chelios was limited to 28 games last season and had no points and a plus-1 rating. He suited up for only six playoff games as the Red Wings lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals, and was not re-signed after the season.</p>
<p>In 25 NHL seasons, Chelios has 185 goals and 763 assists in 1,644 games, but statistics don&rsquo;t scratch the surface of his role in the locker room and on the ice. He has captained numerous U.S. teams and been the consummate professional.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You can make an argument that he&rsquo;s the greatest American player of all time,&rdquo; said Wilson, who coached Chelios in the 1996 and 2004 World Cups of Hockey as well as the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Chris has been in every one of those battles. He&rsquo;s a true warrior. When a player sees Chelli I want him to go up and talk to him and get him all fired up and focused of what&rsquo;s about to happen.&rdquo;</p>
<p>With an average age of 26.2, many on the U.S. roster are young enough to pass for Chelios&rsquo; kid. For Mike Modano, who has been through the international wars with Chelios, from three Olympics to two World Cups.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been there for so long and did so much and he&rsquo;s experienced a lot of things,&rdquo; said Modano, the oldest player on the U.S. roster at 38. &ldquo;He has tons of experience and tons of information that he can pass on to the young guys as to how to play the game. He played the game at a high level for so long. If I was a young defenseman I&rsquo;d be wearing him out with questions.&rdquo;<span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Chelios Signs.img_assist_custom-280x373.JPG" alt="" title="" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x373 " width="280" height="373" /></span></p>
<p>And that&rsquo;s exactly what many of the young defensemen are doing.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is just great to have him out there to pick his brain. His presence on the ice was invaluable,&rdquo; said Jack Johnson, 22, who grew up dreaming his was Chelios playing street hockey.</p>
<p>As the final practice ended early Wednesday afternoon, the players and coaches filed off the ice and into the long corridor that connected the dressing rooms. The players filed to the right while the coaches peeled off to the left. There&rsquo;s a momentary pause as Chelios comes to proverbial fork in the road before following the other coaches down the hall.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It's awkward, it really is,&rdquo; said the man who epitomizes what many consider USA Hockey&rsquo;s greatest generation. "I still consider myself a player.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Old habits are hard to break.</p>
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<h5>Photos by Ross Dettman<br /></h5>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/captain-america-coaching-america#commentsChris CheliosNHLU.S. Men's Olympic TeamOnline Bonus ContentWed, 26 Aug 2009 02:28:45 +0000harryt1413 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.com